Francis Boyle

Francis Anthony Boyle (born 1950) is a professor of international law at the University of Illinois College of Law.^[1] Boyle received a A.B. (1971) in Political Science from the University of Chicago, then a J.D. degree magna cum laude from Harvard Law School, and A.M. and Ph.D. degrees in Political Science from Harvard University. He also practiced tax and international tax with Bingham, Dana & Gould.

Background and legal work

Boyle serves as counsel to Bosnia and Herzegovina and to the Provisional Government of the Palestinian Authority. He also represents two associations of citizens within Bosnia and was involved in developing the indictment against Slobodan Milosevic for committing genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Over his career, he has represented national and international bodies including the Blackfoot Nation (Canada), the Nation of Hawaii, and the Lakota Nation, as well as numerous individual death penalty and human rights cases. He has advised numerous international bodies in the areas of human rights, war crimes and genocide, nuclear policy, and bio-warfare. From 1991-92, Boyle served as Legal Advisor to the Palestinian Delegation to the Middle East Peace Negotiations. He also served on the Board of Directors of Amnesty International, as a consultant to the American Friends Service Committee, and on the Advisory Board for the Council for Responsible Genetics. He drafted the U.S. domestic implementing legislation for the Biological Weapons Convention, known as the Biological Weapons Anti-Terrorism Act of 1989, that was approved unanimously by both Houses of the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President George H.W. Bush.^[2]

Activism and views

Amnesty International

As member of the board of Amnesty International USA at the end of the 1980s and early 1990s, he claimed that Amnesty International USA acted in ways closely related to United States foreign policy interests. He stated that Amnesty, along with other human rights organisations in the US, failed to sufficiently criticise the Sabra and Shatila Massacre in Lebanon.^[3] Boyle stated his suspicion that the International Secretariat of Amnesty International, based geographically in London, UK, was also subject to this bias. He attributes the alleged links between Amnesty International and US and UK foreign policy interests to the relatively large financial contribution of Amnesty International USA to AI's international budget, which he estimated at 20%.^[3] Boyle also stated that Amnesty international was instrumental in publicizing the "Iraqi soldiers dumping children from incubators in Kuwait" hoax.^[4] Boyle also claimed that aspects of organisational continuity and survival came ahead of human rights aims in Amnesty International. He stated "Amnesty International is primarily motivated not by human rights but by publicity. Second comes money. Third comes getting more members. Fourth, internal turf battles. And then finally, human rights, genuine human rights concerns."^[3]

US foreign policy since 9/11

Boyle was a harsh critic of the foreign policy of former American President George W. Bush. In 2007 Boyle denounced the "ongoing criminal activities perpetrated by the Bush Jr. administration and its nefarious foreign accomplices in allied governments such as in Britain, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Georgia, etc." He also claimed that the Bush administration "would welcome the outbreak of a Third World War" and "is fully prepared to use tactical nuclear weapons against Muslim and Arab states and peoples." He also claimed that American treatment of Muslims and Arabs since the attacks of September 11, 2001 is "almost to the same extent that America inflicted upon the Japanese and Japanese Americans after Pearl Harbor." He concluded his speech by calling on American lawyers to "lead the fight against the Bush Jr. dictatorship."^[5]

Boyle has requested that the International Criminal Court Prosecutor obtain International Arrest Warrants for George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, George Tenet, Condoleezza Rice, and Alberto Gonzales.^[6]

Federal Government of the United States

In October 1992 Boyle participated in the International Tribunal of Indigenous Peoples and Oppressed Nationalities in the United States of America that convened in San Francisco. Boyle, acting as a "Special Prosecutor," petitioned the Tribunal to issue the following:

• "An Order proscribing the Federal Government of the United States of America as an International Criminal Conspiracy and a Criminal organization under the Nuremberg Charter, Judgment, and Principles;" and
• "an Order dissolving the Federal Government of the United States of America as a legal and political entity."

In the conclusion of a 37-point legal brief, Boyle proclaimed that:

"[the Federal Government of the United States] is hostis humani generis: The enemy of all humankind! For the good of all humanity, this Tribunal must condemn and repudiate the Federal Government of the United States of America and its grotesque vision of a New World Order that is constructed upon warfare, bloodshed, violence, criminality, genocide, racism, colonialism, apartheid, massive violations of fundamental human rights, and the denial of the international legal right of self-determination to the Indigenous Peoples and Peoples of Color living in North America and elsewhere around the world."^[7]

Hawaiian Sovereignty Movement

In 1993, Boyle gave a speech in which he called for Hawaiian independence from the United States.^[8]

In December 2004, Boyle stated that the United States is illegally occupying the state of Hawaii and has encouraged Native Hawaiians to press for independence and, if necessary, unilaterally proclaim their own state. In a three-hour speech entitled "The Restoration of Hawaii's Independence," Boyle claimed that the United States has conceded it unlawfully occupied the Kingdom of Hawaii and that fact alone "gives the Kanaka Maoli (Native Hawaiians) the entitlement to restore their independent status as a sovereign nation state." Boyle argued that, like the Palestinians, Hawaiians should "exercise their right of self-determination," instead of asking the permission for it. Boyle stated that "the plight of the Hawaiian people is generally well known in the world and there's a great deal of sympathy." He concluded his speech by stating that "Hawaii should send the strongest message to Washington it can. Letters carry no weight. The number of people in the street do. Gandhi threw the mighty British out of India with peaceful, nonviolent force. People power, submit to it."^[9]

Boyle, who has been advising Hawaiian independence groups since 1992, has argued that "The legal cause for the restoration of the kingdom is air-tight," In addition to devising a draft constitution for one group, the Nation of Hawaii, Boyle also filed suit in the US Supreme Court in 1998 to demand the restoration of Hawaiian independence and reparations "for all the harm inflicted on the Kingdom of Hawaii". The court later determined that the kingdom "was a non-recognised sovereign that does not have access to the US courts". Boyle susbsequently stated that Hawaiian independence groups will "have to wait until the Kingdom of Hawaii has achieved substantial diplomatic recognition and then I could file something in the international court of justice." Boyle further stated that "Native Hawaiians operate in accordance with the Aloha spirit, which is similar to Mahatma Gandhi's Satyagraha force, and I take the position that if Gandhi can throw the mighty British Empire out of India with Satyagraha, Native Hawaiians can throw the mighty American empire out of Hawaii with Aloha." In a 2008 interview, Boyle restated his confidence that Hawaii will eventually achieve independence from the United States.^[10]

Bosnia and Herzegovina - Bosnian Genocide Case

During the war for independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dr. Boyle became the first international-law legal adviser to the First Bosnia-Herzegovinian President Alija Izetbegovic. Dr. Boyle prepared and filed with the international court of justice case 91, also known as the Bosnian Genocide Case claiming that genocide took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina and that Serbia was responsible for and complicit in that genocide. The final verdict of the case, in 2007, stated that while Serbia has not committed genocide, the genocide indeed did take place in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia was responsible for failing to prevent and punish the genocide which it knew was taking place.”^[11]

Iran

Boyle has urged Iran to sue the United States in the International Court of Justice in order to discourage a military strike on Iran's nuclear facilities and prevent the imposition of new sanctions by the U.N. Security Council. He has also offered to represent Iran and recommended that Iran begin drafting lawsuits for presentation to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).^[12][13]

Israel

Boyle is a harsh critic of Israel, Zionism, and American foreign policy towards Israel. In May 2008, Boyle offered to "represent Iran in an international tribunal for trying the Zionist regime on charges of genocide of Palestinians", and reportedly demanded that his proposal be submitted to Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.^[14][15]

In 1986, Boyle filed a lawsuit against Israeli General Amos Yaron for alleged involvement in the Sabra and Shatila massacre on behalf of several relatives of victims, but lost when the United States State Department claimed that Yaron could not be tried due to the diplomatic immunity he enjoyed as a military attachè to the United States. Boyle countered that under the Nuremberg Principles, there are no privileges and immunities for suspected war criminals, but the court decided that since President Reagan had given Yaron a "formal certification", "this was a political question and the court could not do anything to the contrary". Boyle has since followed all lawsuits against Israelis internationally, and blames "Zionist control and domination of the American judiciary" for the failure of these lawsuits in the United States. Boyle also proposed that the United Nations General Assembly set up the "International Criminal Tribunal for Israel" (ICTI) as a "subsidiary organ" under Article 22 of the United Nations Charter. His suggestion was endorsed in the UN by Malaysia and Iran, and supported by several dozen Arab and Muslim countries.^[16]

Boyle has campaigned for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions on Israel since first calling for the establishment of the movement in 2000.^[16]

Boyle has referred to Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip as "genocide", and the Gaza War as a "massacre", claiming that Israel's actions raise the element in the Genocide Convention "of murder, torture, and things of that nature", and urged the Obama Administration to force Israel to lift its blockade.^[16] In January 2009, Boyle wrote that "Israel’s genocidal policy against the Palestinians has been unremitting, extending from before the very foundation of the State of Israel in 1948... Zionism’s “final solution” to Israel’s much touted “demographic threat” allegedly posed by the very existence of the Palestinians has always been genocide."^[15] Following the Gaza War, he advised Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to file a declaration under Article 12, Paragraph 3 of the Rome Statute, requesting the prosecution of Israeli officials.^[16]

Boyle has referred to Israeli settlements as "clearly illegal and criminal", and stated that "all these so-called settlers are committing war crimes, except the children, who are obviously not old enough to formulate a criminal intent".^[16]

Views on Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton

In interview which aired on Al-Jazeera TV on October 26, 2010 (as translated by MEMRI), Boyle sharply criticized Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, stating that

"Obama was bought and paid for by Zionists. That's why Rahm Emanuel was his chief-of-staff, until just recently, when he decided to run for mayor of Chicago. Emanuel was bought and paid for to be put in there, the same way with [Dennis] Ross and the White House. Mrs. Clinton sold her soul to the Zionists in New York to get elected as senator from New York."^[17]

US Media and Higher Education

In interview which aired on Al-Jazeera TV on October 26, 2010 (as translated by MEMRI), Boyle claimed that:

"...all the major US news media sources are Zionist – every one of them. Likewise, higher education, here, in America, has become predominantly Zionist in its orientation, since I entered college in 1968. As a matter of fact, if I were trying to become a professor today, the Zionists would make sure I could not become a professor – exactly as they did to my friend Norman Finkelstein at DePaul University."^[17][18]

Alan Dershowitz

Boyle is a sharp critic of pro-Israel scholar Alan Dershowitz, author of The Case for Israel. In a February 2010 interview, Boyle stated that "Dershowitz is not a trained international lawyer; he's not a trained human rights lawyer" and that "Dershowitz is a {prima facie} war criminal, who should be prosecuted himself." He also stated that "it would be great to get him out of Harvard Law School - my dis-alma mater - and ship him over to Israel with all the other war criminals over there." In the same interview, Boyle expressed support for other critics of Dershowitz and Israel such as Norman Finkelstein and Israel Shahak.^[19]

Prediction of the collapse of Israel

In an article published in Veterans Today, Boyle stated that "God had no right to steal Palestine from the Palestinians and give Palestine to the Jews to begin with. A fortiori the United Nations had no right to steal Palestine from the Palestinians and give Palestine to the Zionists in 1947." In the same article, Boyle predicted that the state of Israel "will continue its rapid descent into pariah state status" and that "When Israel collapses, most Zionists will have already left or will soon leave for other states around the world. The Palestinians will then be able to claim all of the historic Mandate for Palestine as their State, including the entire City of Jerusalem as their Capital."^[20]

Regarding a potential peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, Boyle wrote that "(...) There is no reason for the Palestinians to give the Zionists a new lease on life in Palestine by signing any sort of peace treaty with Israel. (...) The only thing that could save Zionism in Palestine is for the Palestinians to conclude any type of so-called comprehensive Middle East Peace treaty with Israel. It is for precisely that reason then that the Palestinians must sign nothing and let Israel collapse of its own weight over the next two decades. (...)"^[20] Boyle has also written that "the Jewish Bantustan (will) collapse of its own racist and genocidal weight over the next two decades if not much sooner. In the meantime, the Palestinians must stall and delay the so-called peace negotiations until then. Time is on their side".^[21]

Israel as a "Jewish Bantustan"

In interview which aired on Al-Jazeera TV, October 26, 2010 (as translated by MEMRI), Boyle stated that Israel is "nothing more than a Jewish Bantustan, set up by the Western colonial powers, in the Middle East, to control and dominate the Middle East at their behest. It is that simple...The British, the Americans, and the French created Israel as a Jewish Bantustan and stuck it there in the heart of Palestine and the Arab world to control and dominate that region of the world."^[17]

"Jewistan" suggestion

In an article published in several sources, including the Atlantic Free Press, in October 2010, Boyle suggested that Israel change its name to "Jewistan - The State of the Jews",^[22] explaining that:

"Israel has never been anything but a Bantustan for Jews setup in the Middle East by the White racist and genocidal Western colonial imperial powers in order to serve as their racist attack dog and genocidal enforcer against the Arab and Muslim world. From the very moment of Western imperialism's genocidal conception of Israel in 1947-1948, Israel has historically always functioned as Jewistan – the world's Bantustan for the Jews. So Israel might as well finally change its name today to Jewistan, own up to its racist birthright, and make it official for the rest of the world to acknowledge."^[23][24][25]

He concluded the article by stating:

"In the meantime, the Palestinians should sign nothing with Jewistan/Israel and let this Bantustan for Jews collapse of its own racist and genocidal weight. Good riddance!"^[23][24][26]

References

External resources

• Dennis Bernstein's interview with Francis Boyle
• Francis Boyle's Faculty Webpage
• Francis Boyle's statement on Hawaiian Independence
• Francis Boyle's interview with Bill O'Reilly
• Francis Boyle discusses the Bill O'Reilly interview and the War in Afghanistan
• Francis A. Boyle. Palestine, Palestinians and International Law, review of his book by Ghada Talhami, Arab Studies Quarterly (ASQ), Summer, 2003

Audio

• Radio interview by Robert W. McChesney on UIC Media Matters program December 23, 2007.
• "Interview with Professor Francis Boyle" (58 minutes), May 1, 2010. Peter B. Collins and Sibel Edmonds, interviewers.